Medicines you can buy at a Korean convenience store

The rule

Since 2012 Korea has allowed 24-hour convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, emart24 and others) to sell a small, government-fixed set of "safe household medicines" (안전상비의약품). The list is set by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and has 13 products in four groups: fever and pain relief, cold remedies, digestive aids, and medicated patches. Nothing else: no antihistamines, no diarrhoea medicine, no antiseptic, no prescription drugs.

It is meant to bridge the hours when pharmacies are closed, not to stock a medicine cabinet. The stores are not pharmacies: nobody there can advise you, and the packs are deliberately small.

Not every store carries them. Only stores that registered for it sell medicine, and small or non-24-hour branches often do not. Look for a small display near the till, or ask 약 있어요? (yak iss-eo-yo?, "do you have medicine?"). If they do, the clerk hands it over from behind the counter.

The 13 products

Do not double up on acetaminophen. The cold remedies on this list already contain acetaminophen. Taking Tylenol on top of Pancol or Panpyrin can push you past the safe daily limit. Read the ingredient line, or ask the clerk to point out 아세트아미노펜 on the box.

Stores stock what sells. In practice you will almost always find the adult Tylenol and a cold remedy; the children’s formulations and the enzyme tablets are hit and miss, and a few products have been reformulated or become hard to find over the years. Ask for 상비약 (sang-bi-yak, "household medicine") and see what they have.

The rules at the till

• One pack per product per purchase. The clerk may refuse to sell two boxes of the same item
• No sales to children under 12. An adult buys children’s medicine for them
• Packs are small, typically a few tablets or a single day of cold medicine
• There is no pharmacist. The clerk cannot advise on dose or interactions. If you have any doubt, wait for a pharmacy

Check the children’s doses yourself If it is for a child, read the age and weight table on the box before buying, and never give an adult tablet to a child. Nothing on the list is meant for a child under two.

What is not there

Most of what travellers actually need at night is not on the list: antihistamines for allergies or bites, loperamide for diarrhoea, motion-sickness tablets, antacids beyond the enzyme tablets, antiseptic or antibiotic ointment, throat lozenges with an active ingredient, adult ibuprofen or aspirin. Plasters and basic first-aid items are sold as ordinary goods. For the rest you need an open pharmacy.

Late-night pharmacies exist in every large city, and this site lists them by area. Some local governments also designate public late-night pharmacies (공공심야약국) that stay open until midnight. In central Seoul, Busan and near university hospitals you can usually find one within a taxi ride.

Finding a 24-hour or late-night pharmacy

Pharmacies open now on the map

When to skip both and get help

Convenience-store medicine is for a mild headache, a cold that is keeping you awake, or an upset stomach after dinner. A high fever in a small child, chest pain, breathing difficulty, a severe allergic reaction or a wound that will not stop bleeding is a reason to call 119, not to look for a tablet.

What to do in a medical emergency